The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a state governmental function created by the United States federal government in 1966 under Section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). [1] The purposes of a SHPO include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing nominations for properties to be included in the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing undertakings for the impact on the properties as well as supporting federal organizations, state and local governments, and private sector. [2] [3] States are responsible for setting up their own SHPO; therefore, each SHPO varies slightly on rules and regulations. To link these differences with the SHPOs, the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) [4] was created as a "point of contact" according to the National Historic Preservation Act. [5]
In 1966, the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) was put into effect. As part of the Congressional Act, Section 101 implemented the designation of the State Historic Preservation Program. State Liaison Officers, which later became known as State Historic Preservation Officers, were established to manage historic preservation grants for the National Park Service (NPS). In the 1970s, these SHPOs experienced a growth in power as they became more organized, efficient and professional, and clarified their relationships with NPS.
They also formed a National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers to represent them on a National level, particularly in Washington. The SHPO continued to gain an increasingly specific role, taking on the position of the advising consultant for the Section 106 review process. In 1980 with the amendment to the NHPA, the SHPO's exact duties were finally identified, defining its role, which remains today. [6]
The responsibilities of the State Historic Preservation Office, according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, include running the State Historic Preservation Program and, as stated in the Act:
Definitions "Comprehensive Statewide Historic preservation plan" – The official plan assumed by local governments throughout the state, that guides decision making over proposed public and private actions affecting community development. [8] View an example here.
"Secretary" refers to the Secretary of the Interior in the Department of the Interior.
"Historic Preservation Program" – A program designed to support and promote historic preservation interests and priorities. There are National, Federal and State Preservation Programs, each tailored to suit the needs at each particular level. [9]
"Certified local government"- For a city or town's local government to become certified, it has to meet particular standards so that it can participate in certain NHPA programs. [10]
SHPOs exist not only in 50 states, but also in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia; making 59 SHPOs total. [11] Each State Historic Preservation Office is responsible for effective planning to address preservation matters. [12] For example, agricultural structures such as barns are significant to New Hampshire's "values of heritage, hard work, productivity and stewardship" and the state has devoted special programs to help preserve these values. [13]
In Florida, Art Deco buildings in South Beach are considered significant to the state. [14] As a result of these differences, states have expanded and/or specialized their SHPO purposes and created private organizations. Alaska's Coastal Management Program is a private organization, created by the state to regulate agencies to acknowledge environmental and cultural resources within the Alaskan Coast and protect them. [15]
Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) assume "some or all of the functions of State Historic Preservation Officers on Tribal lands." [16]
The National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers (NCSHPO) is a non-profit organization for State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO). It serves as a way of contacting the SHPOs as well as a way for the SHPOs to communicate with each other. [17] The mission of the NCSHPO is to act as a national representative for the SHPOs, especially when it comes to representing their interests in Washington. [18]
The NCSHPO meets once a year and participants include not only SHPOs, but members of Preservation Action and the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, National Trust for Historic Preservation Advisors and federal agencies. Participants are updated on important legislative issues and then visit Capitol Hill with the information, to meet with their Representatives and Senators to establish favorable positions on these issues. [19]
Generally the President of the NCSHPO is a previous member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) while the Board of Directors, which governs NCSHPO, is elected by the member states and meets more frequently than once a year. It acts as a representative for them with federal agencies and national preservation organizations. It is important to have a close relationship with these federal agencies and national organizations, and NCSHPO maintains these by partnering closely with organizations such as: The ACHP, The National Park Service, The National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Action. [20]
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value". A property listed in the National Register or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support the preservation of America’s diverse historic buildings, neighborhoods, and heritage through its programs, resources, and advocacy.
In the broadest sense, cultural resource management (CRM) is the vocation and practice of managing heritage assets, and other cultural resources such as contemporary art. It incorporates Cultural Heritage Management which is concerned with traditional and historic culture. It also delves into the material culture of archaeology. Cultural resource management encompasses current culture, including progressive and innovative culture, such as urban culture, rather than simply preserving and presenting traditional forms of culture.
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought to their attention".
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philosophical concept that became popular in the twentieth century, which maintains that cities as products of centuries' development should be obligated to protect their patrimonial legacy. The term refers specifically to the preservation of the built environment, and not to preservation of, for example, primeval forests or wilderness.
The National Historic Preservation Act is legislation intended to preserve historic and archaeological sites in the United States of America. The act created the National Register of Historic Places, the list of National Historic Landmarks, and the State Historic Preservation Offices.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), an independent United States federal agency, is charged with the mission to promote the preservation of the nation's diverse historic resources. The ACHP advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy and also provides a public forum for stakeholders and the public to influence federal agency decisions regarding federal projects and programs that affect historic properties. The ACHP promotes the importance of historic preservation to foster an understanding of the nation's heritage and the contribution that historic preservation can make to contemporary communities, along with their economic and social well-being.
The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) is a United States federal government program created by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991, with the aim of preserving historic battlefields in the United States. In 1996, Congress signed into law the American Battlefield Protection Act, which officially authorized the ABPP. The program operates under the American Battlefield Protection Program Authorization as of 2009.
The history of the National Register of Historic Places began in 1966 when the United States government passed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), which created the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Upon its inception, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) became the lead agency for the Register. The Register has continued to grow through two reorganizations, one in the 1970s and one in 1980s and in 1978 the NRHP was completely transferred away from the National Park Service, it was again transmitted to the NPS in 1981.
The Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) provides financial support for historic preservation projects throughout the United States. The fund is administered by the National Park Service (NPS), pursuant to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). The fund provides state historic preservation agencies with matching funds to implement the act.
Steel Bridge Songfest is an annual, four-day music festival held in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Founded in 2005 by musician Pat MacDonald the event began as part of a grass-roots campaign to restore a historic bridge. The festival features a week-long collaborative songwriting workshop where participants write songs inspired by the bridge. The songs are recorded on-site at the Holiday Music Motel and released as compilation albums. Steel Bridge Songs Vol.10 was released during Steel Bridge Songfest 10th Anniversary (2016)
The Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) is an independent government agency in Washington state which serves several functions, including regulatory functions. The agency inventories and regulates archaeological sites; houses Washington's State Historic Preservation Officer, State Archaeologist, State Architectural Historian and State Physical Anthropologist; maintains the Washington Heritage Register and Heritage Barn Register; provides expertise on environmental impacts to cultural resources; administers historic preservation grants for heritage barns and historic county courthouses; encourages historic preservation through local governments; provides technical assistance for historic rehabilitation and using historic preservation tax credits; and maintains extensive GIS databases to catalog the state's historic and prehistoric cultural resources.
The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is one of 59 state historic preservation offices established according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that plays a role in implementing federal historic preservation policy in the United States. The purposes of a SHPO include surveying and recognizing historic properties, reviewing nominations for properties to be included in the National Register of Historic Places, reviewing federal and state undertakings for their impact on historic resources, and supporting federal organizations, state and local governments, and private sector in historic preservation matters.
Milford Wayne Donaldson is a preservation architect. He served as the Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). Donaldson was originally appointed to the position in 2010, and President Barack Obama reappointed him in August 2013 for another four-year term. He left the role on July 22, 2019. Formerly the State Historic Preservation Officer of California, Donaldson has been practicing preservation architecture as a profession for more than 40 years.
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is the State Historic Preservation Office for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency maintains the Virginia Landmarks Register. It also holds historic property easements, administers the state's historic tax credit program, and approves official highway historical markers for the state. Its headquarters are leased from and shared with the Virginia Historical Society.
The State of Florida, the United States Federal government, local governments, and indigenous tribal governments have particular interests in the protection and preservation of Native American cultural, historic, and sacred sites in Florida. Florida has faced threats to its indigenous sites from looting, a lack of protection, citizen or amateur archaeologists, development, and other factors. Only in recent years has the protection of indigenous sites become a focus in Florida, where a long history of site destruction and looting is now being challenged.
The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (DHR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Benjamin Wilson is director of DHR and the State Historic Preservation Officer, while Sarah Stewart is commissioner of DHR's parent agency, the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). The main office of DHR is located in Concord.
A Tribal Historic Preservation Officer or THPO is an officer in the United States "designated by a federally-recognized Indian tribe to direct a program approved by the National Park Service and the THPO must have assumed some or all of the functions of State Historic Preservation Officers on Tribal lands."
Most cultural policy in the United States is enacted at the local and state level, though federal programs also exist to carry out cultural policy. These promote the culture of the United States, including visual art, performing arts, heritage, language, museums, libraries, and sports.
The New York State Register of Historic Places is a listing of "properties significant in history, architecture, engineering, landscape design, archeology, and culture" in the U.S. state of New York. The register was created by the New York State Historic Preservation Act of 1980 and is administered by the State Historic Preservation Officer, who is also the commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
